About the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill

Link to the Bill

The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill (the Bill) was introduced to Parliament on 8 March 2016.

Purpose of the Bill

The purpose of the Bill is to establish a new marine protected area in New Zealand’s exclusive economic zone around the Kermadec Islands and to preserve it in its natural state.

About the Bill

The Bill had its first reading on 15 March 2016 and was referred to the Local Government and Environment Select Committee for consideration. The select committee received public submissions up to 28 April 2016.

For more information about the select committee process and timeframes see Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill webpage [New Zealand Parliament website].

To know more about the wider legislative process, including how a Bill becomes law, see How laws are made [New Zealand Parliament website].

Departmental disclosure statement

The Ministry is required to produce a departmental disclosure statement. The departmental disclosure statement seeks to bring together in one place a range of information to support and enhance the Parliamentary and public scrutiny of the Bill.

It identifies:

the general policy intent of the Bill and other background policy material

some of the key quality assurance products and processes used to develop and test the content of the Bill

the presence of certain significant powers or features in the Bill that might be of particular Parliamentary or public interest and warrant an explanation.

Regulatory impact statement

The regulatory impact statement sets out in more detail the impacts of the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary (including costs, benefits, and impacts for government, stakeholders and the wider community) and any alternative options considered.